Interdisciplinary Science Program Personal Statement

No one can deny the value and privileges that the Interdisciplinary Science Program (ISP) offers. After all, the exposure to multiple fields of science is echoic of the liberal arts ideal and it offers students a chance to find their own interests. The elite small group enables one to form close bonds that persist long after college. The research opportunities, starting from second semester, are a valuable boon to any aspiring medical or PhD students. But to me, the ISP is more than a valuable way to gain admission to medical school. It’s not merely a boost in the ladder to becoming a medical doctor or getting a PhD. My interest in the program runs far deeper than that.

Science, especially the medical and healthcare aspect has always been
Practically speaking, I knew that I should have a fallback. However, I knew that whatever I did, I still wanted to be in the science field and to be able to help others. This is where neuroscience, biology, and bioengineering came in. These were fields that I had an interest in and that I could still help others. My interest in psychology was first peaked when the concept of AIs took the internet by storm. I heard about how AI’s were making progress but also how they couldn’t replicate the human brain, couldn’t have emotions. This made me interested in the workings of the brain and what makes it so unique. I have always loved biology, learning the content in class always seemed to come to me, to make sense unlike some other subjects. My interest in bioengineering came from ne of my mentors, who himself is an engineer. He told me that even if one doesn’t plan on becoming an engineer in the future, the principles of engineering are fundamental to life and underly everything in the world around us. It would provide me with skills that I could carry with me for a lifetime. I decided to combine this with my interest in biology and became intrigued with bioengineering.But the question was, which one to choose? How could I know which one is most suited to my interests? This is where the ISP comes in. It’ll expose me to the various fields and give me a taste of each of
I’m also interested in the process of becoming one. The doctors who fixed my cleft lip in China didn’t have to. They could’ve just stayed in Europe, performing surgeries that would earn them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet, there was something about their life that caused them to want to help others. I believe it was how they became doctors, the things they learned, the beliefs that were instilled into them during their training that made them decide to go to China and do expensive surgeries for free. After all, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It’s the not the destination, It's the journey.” This process is what I’m interested. Meaghan represented this passion and this willingness to help others at a much younger stage. When I talked to Meaghan, I saw how passionate and excited she was, talking about the program and her own journey. Even when she had finished the program, she was still involved with it and dedicated to helping the people in the program. Clearly, there was something about the program, not just the experience and resume benefits that it offers but also the emotional benefits that the program had. I want to be able to experience the same thing, to have the same drive that these doctors and Meaghan had to not just help others but to be so thoroughly impacted that even years later, they still want to give back and I think that this program can help me acheive